Brown Sugar-and-Dill-Cured Salmon

Ingredients

• 1 (1 1/2-pound) salmon fillet
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon vodka
• Dark pumpernickel bread slices, flatbread crackers, crème fraîche, chopped red onion, fresh dill, cracked black pepper

Preparation

1. 1. Cut salmon in half crosswise, and place one half, skin side down, in an 8- x 8-inch glass baking dish.
2. 2. Combine brown sugar, salt, pepper, and dill; spoon half of sugar mixture evenly over salmon in dish, and drizzle with vodka. Cover with other half of salmon, skin side up, and spoon remaining sugar mixture on top. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap; place a plate or small dish on top of salmon, and weigh down with soup cans. Refrigerate 2 days, occasionally rotating fish and basting with liquid that collects in bottom of dish.
3. 3. Remove fish from liquid, and rinse. Cut meat into long, thin slices, discarding skin. Serve with dark pumpernickel bread slices, flatbread crackers, crème fraîche, chopped red onion, fresh dill, and cracked black pepper.